Russia's Novak: OPEC+ has not discussed plans for August

OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, has not discussed output plans for August, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said after the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting on Thursday.

"We may see the oil market balancing by year-end or early next year," Novak added and added that he does not rule out an extraordinary meeting of OPEC+ before December if necessary.

Market reaction

Crude oil prices largely ignored these comments. As of writing, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was last seen gaining 2.27% on the day at $38.50.